1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closure arrangements for plastic bags wherein the closure device forms an integral part of the bag structure itself. The closure means comprises an adhesive stripe which is located on a front wall flap adjacent the bag mouth. The adhesive stripe is protected until ready for use by folding a portion of the front wall flap back upon itself thereby protectively covering said adhesive stripe until it is desired to close the bag mouth. Adhesive closure of the bag is effected by displacement of the flap to expose the adhesive stripe and subsequently sealing the bag by pressing the adhesive stripe against the inner surface of the bag back wall.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, numerous closure arrangements have been proposed and employed as closure devices for securing plastic bags in a closed condition. Such devices include rubber bands or so-called twist-ties, paper or plastic coated lengths of wire, which are fastened around the gathered and twisted neck of a plastic bag to secure it in closed condition. An obvious disadvantage of such closure devices is that they do not form an intergral part of the bag structure and hence, may not in many instances be readily accessible when it is desired to effect closure of the bag. Another closure arrangement for plastic bags which has been employed in the past, without significant commercial success, is the employment of an exposed and unprotected adhesive stripe adjacent the open mouth of such bag structures. Such an arrangement presented many drawbacks. When such bags were packaged within a dispensing carton either in continuous roll form or individually adjacent to one another, the bags had a tendency to stick to one another as well as to exterior objects following dispensing of individual bags from the container, thus making it difficult to use the bags. Also, the adhesives necessarily were relatively non-aggressive in an attempt to alleviate such problems thereby making the closures insecure.